Repercussions
by Jmaka
Summary: Lorelai returns the favor after Luke buys her basket at the auction.
1. Her Flannel Knight

Is it only me or did the Stars Hollow townies miss a prime opportunity when Luke bought Lorelai's basket? Sure, he was pestered into buying it, but buy it he did, then he did something they all missed: He went with her to eat it. But as we all know, Luke has a remarkable sense of self preservation, so much so that he went back to the diner and made their favorites to "picnic" in the gazebo for all the world and Hello magazine to see.

Boy, Miss Patty is slipping….

Obviously this takes place during the A Tisket a Tasket episode. A lot of the dialogue was lifted from that episode for this first chapter and I've added a few things. I've taken Luke's weakness for helping Lorelai out, added Lorelai's gratitude plus a dash of mischief and mixed it all together to come up with this. Enjoy!

Her Flannel Knight

Stars Hollow's equivalent to Vanna White held up the last offering in the basket auction. She had a vapid smile plastered on her face as she let the restless audience see the basket from all angles. The basket auction had been going on for a while now, but there had been a few surprises this year: the all-out bidding war between Dean and Jess and Kirk buying Sookie's basket. Both had been shockers and had the townsfolk's tongues a-wagging.

"Next up – why, that looks like a Doose's market basket. Nice, huh?" Taylor had warmed to his role, looking around magnanimously, playing to the assembled crowd like some kind of demented game-show host. Pat Sajak, he wasn't.

"Ooh, that's mine," Lorelai said to a woman standing next to her as she took a sip of her coffee.

"I'd like to start the bidding at five dollars," Taylor launched into his practiced shtick, trying to get things started.

"I bid five dollars," an unfamiliar guy piped up.

"Whoa, that was quick," Lorelai said in surprise.

"Ten dollars." A second guy raised his hand.

"Do they know that all that's in there is two stale Pop Tarts and a Slim Jim?" Lorelai wittily commented to the same woman. The woman smirked in amusement.

"Fifteen dollars." Another stranger entered into the fray.

"He looks familiar." Lorelai narrowed her eyes, trying to place the face.

"Twenty dollars," the first guy called out.

"Twenty dollars," Taylor confirmed, getting into the swing of things.

"So does he," Lorelai frowned, a sudden sinking feeling taking hold of her.

"Twenty-five," the second guy upped his bid.

"This is going very well gentlemen, keep it up," Taylor said encouragingly.

"Oh no," Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment as the realization dawned. She passed her coffee cup off to the unsuspecting woman and hurried over to where Miss Patty was sitting. "Those are the guys, aren't they?" Lorelai asked.

"Excuse me?" Miss Patty eyes went wide as she feigned innocence

"The guys whose pictures you sent me - you brought them here! You're setting me up!" Lorelai accused her.

Patty immediately dropped the pretense. "Well darling, you can't be trusted to do it yourself," she admonished her.

"Oh geez, oh geez!" Lorelai said, horrified. This was turning into a nightmare.

"Thirty-five," the second guy declared with a determined look.

"That one's a snorkeler," Patty said gleefully. The innuendo in her voice implied all things dirty.

"Ugh!" Lorelai shuddered in distaste. She took off running, no, sprinting for Luke's. There was only one person she knew who could rescue her from this hell and he had a fondness for flannel and backwards baseball caps. Lorelai burst through the door, skidding to a stop in from of Cesar.

"Luke!" She got out. "Where is he, where is he? I need him! Caesar, where is -" Her panic was nearly choking her. Cesar gestured towards the kitchen and as she looked that way, the man himself emerged. "Agh, agh, thank God. Hey, hey, you gotta come with me." She hurried to the end of the counter as he was rounding it.

"What are you doing?" Luke calmly asked, taking her present craziness in stride. As she grabbed at the plates he was holding, he became alarmed. "Hey hey, I got plates here!"

Lorelai snatched the food out of his hands and headed back behind the counter. "Put the burgers down." She unceremoniously dumped the plates on the counter as she hurried along to her goal. Luke was one step behind her, trying to shoo her out. "Cesar, you're in charge." She practically threw herself at the cash register.

"Now wait!" Luke protested. This was bizarre even for Lorelai.

Lorelai began randomly stabbing at buttons. "Do you have money? I need money! Which one opens this thing?" She worked her way across, hitting each button in turn, hoping the drawer would pop open. Her running commentary as she did so only added to her desperation. "Is it that one? Not that one…."

"Stop messing with that," Luke muttered as he tried to move her flailing hand away from the register.

Lorelai grabbed Luke's arm instead, pulling him around the counter. "Luke, you gotta come out there with me. Patty gave my picture out to all these guys because she thinks I need a man," she explained quickly. Time was of the essence.

Luke dug his heels in, not budging, patiently listening to her before agreeing. "You do, one with a nice couch and a deep knowledge of Freud."

"You have to come out and bid on my basket!" Lorelai insisted.

Luke snorted in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Yes!" she stated emphatically. Why was he being so difficult?

Luke headed back to the counter to retrieve the plates. "I have never in my life taken part in one of these crazy group flip outs. I'm not about to start now." He delivered the two platters and went to move away but Lorelai was blocking his path.

"But - right now - out there - the -" she sputtered.

"Just buy your own basket," Luke instructed her as if that would solve the problem.

"I cannot buy my own basket," she declared.

"Why not?"

"Because that is pathetic!"

"And chasing me around my diner begging me to buy your basket?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Also pathetic!" she agreed. "But that is a pathetic I can live with, where that pathetic," she flung her arm out on the direction of the town square, "is a truly pathetic-pathetic, and only you can save me from the double pathetic! Please!" She was frantic now.

Luke, worn down by her non-existent logic, slammed down his order pad and pen. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He headed towards the door and grabbed his coat.

"Ha, ha!" Lorelai smiled triumphant, knowing she was saved.

Luke paused, hand on the doorknob, as if screwing up his courage. Did he really want to do this? He vowed never to get caught up in the town lunacy and never had up until this point. Add to that, he would be buying Lorelai's basket. As if he didn't have enough to deal with the never-ending idle speculation about the two of them, now he would be giving the town busybodies fodder for even more gossip. But Lorelai needed his help and he couldn't turn her down.

Lorelai bounced on her feet impatiently, urging him out the door. "Hurry up. Hurry up!" She pushed him out as he opened the door and closed it behind them.

Lorelai scurried over to the gazebo where, thankfully, the bidding was still going on. "Forty-five fifty," the first guy said.

"Forty-six," guy number two countered.

"Forty-six fifty," the third guy chimed in.

"Forty-seven." The first guy was hanging tough.

Lorelai gesticulated madly for Luke to catch up and enter the bidding. "Go, go on."

"Forty-seven dollars, are you kidding?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Luke!"

"Forty-seven fifty!" guy number two added.

"For what?" Luke asked logically. "Two stale Pop Tarts and a Slim Jim?" She had to be kidding him.

"Okay, you're not getting the whole saving me here thing, are you?" Lorelai snapped in irritation.

"Fine," Luke conceded, holding up one hand to stop her spate of nonsense. "Forty-eight."

"Forty-eight fifty," guy number one immediately countered.

"Forty-nine," Luke said reluctantly, digging in his back pocket for his wallet.

"Forty-nine fifty," guy number two shouted out.

"Uh," Luke hemmed, checking to see how much cash he had on him, "fifty-two fifty."

"What? We're just supposed to go to fifty," the first guy protested. He seemed to be at a loss as to what to do now that the dollar amount was in uncharted territory.

"I have a life," Luke replied holding up his money, his tone clearly stating they didn't.

"Fifty-two fifty going once!" Lorelai cried out, desperately trying to bring this fiasco to an end.

Now it was Taylor's turn to protest. "Hey, hey, that's my job! Fifty-two fifty going once, fifty-two fifty going twice . . . ." The cadence of his voice was slow and measured.

"Oh, please God," Lorelai prayed fervently that no one else would counter while Taylor took his sweet time ending the bidding.

Taylor finally banged the gavel. "Sold for fifty-two fifty!"

"Yes!" Lorelai grabbed Luke's elbow and urged him forward to collect her basket. "Ha, ha, sorry guys, don't feel bad," she commiserated at the crestfallen faces of her unwanted suitors. "I'm totally into Dungeons and Dragons. You've skated."

Taylor wrapped things up. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the basket bidding for today!

Victors come claim your prizes and your dates! Let the lunching begin!"

"You rock!" Lorelai crowed as Luke took possession of her basket.

"Thank you," he replied, dazed.

"You're welcome," she replied seriously.

"So what do we do now?" Luke queried.

In her frantic rush to prevent a dating catastrophe, she realized she hadn't thought the whole thing through. Now that it was over, it dawned on her that she was going to have a private lunch. Alone. With Luke. Belatedly, she wondered if coercing him into buying her basket was such a good idea. It was these little scenarios where they were thrown together that always seemed to lead to some weird, uncomfortable moment. Well, not really uncomfortable, she corrected herself. More like unsettling. Like there was something else going on that she wasn't aware of. Or maybe she was aware of and she was uncertain where it was going. Or where she wanted it to go. Or more importantly, where Luke wanted it to go.

Things about them had been quiet in the rumor mill lately. She was afraid that with this little picnic, that blessed respite was about to come to an end. "I guess we eat," Lorelai said resignedly.

"This?" Luke held the basket out gingerly, as if it were a bomb.

"Yeah."

"First I have to buy it then I have to eat it?" He sounded like it would end up being his last meal.

Relieved, Lorelai realized that with the attitude he was displaying, she had nothing to worry about. "Hey, the basket of botulism does come with my company," she offered, trying to make their picnic more enticing. Just not too enticing.

"Huh." Luke pondered. "You don't eat with your mouth open do you?"

Oh yeah, they would be just fine, she decided. "Women don't eat at all," she explained flippantly. "We just look at food and jump on the treadmill."

"All right," he agreed, "let's go."

The purchased baskets had been cleared out of the gazebo in record time and before anyone else could claim it, Luke headed up the steps and sat down on a bench. Lorelai followed and he set the basket between them.

"We're supposed to be eating on the ground," Lorelai complained.

"Says who?" Luke inquired.

"Every picture you've ever seen of a picnic shows people eating on the ground," Lorelai insisted.

"Yes, and every time I have seen a picture of people eating on the ground I've thought, what the hell are you people doing sitting on the ground? Spring for some beach chairs, you cheapskates." Luke got his rant in about picnics in just two sentences. That had to be a new record for him.

Before they could get started, Lane interrupted to ask for Lorelai's cell phone. Luke peeked into the basket as Lorelai stepped aside to talk to Lane. He shuddered. The sight of the contents was enough to turn his stomach. As Lane ran off with Lorelai's cell phone, Luke stood up and walked past Lorelai to leave as well.

"Hey, where are you going?" she demanded. This was going to be the shortest picnic on record.

He turned back to her. "I am going to the diner," he stated. "I am going to get us some edible food and I'm gonna bring it back here for us to eat."

"That is so not the point of today," Lorelai said indignantly. She pointed to her basket, the other hand on her hip. "I made this. I am insulted. I will now proceed to pout."

"I'll bring back some brownies," Luke bargained. He wisely knew that if he upped ante, Lorelai would come around.

Lorelai's mouth curved into an appreciative smile, totally placated. "Ooh, the pouting has left the building."

Luke threw one arm as if to say, "There you go" and left for the diner. Pleased that she would be getting some decent food, and Luke's food to boot, Lorelai sat back down to wait for him.

He was back less than fifteen minutes later carrying two large take out bags. Without a word, he handed her take out boxes filled with a cheeseburger and fries for her and a salad and vegetables for himself. He had her requisite coffee and his cup of tea. And, as promised, a container with no less than five brownies. They ate, enjoying the day and the food in quiet camaraderie.

"You know, your burgers actually taste better outside," she noted.

"Good," Luke quipped. "Next time the roof in the diner's leaking, I'll just rip the stupid thing off."

Lorelai gave a little chuckle. She leaned back, completely relaxed. She was enjoying having lunch with Luke. This picnic lunch turned out better than she'd hoped. For the most part, they'd eaten in companionable silence, occasionally making a comment or observation. "So this is nice, huh?" she questioned him. "Come on, admit it."

"Never," Luke vowed.

"What? Admit it, you would much rather be sitting out here than inside working," she wheedled.

"The diner's probably on fire by now," he mused darkly.

"You are stubborn," she observed.

"I'm stubborn?" Luke repeated incredulously

"Yeah, you're stubborn," Lorelai affirmed.

"You're Miss Flexibility over here?" Luke pointed out.

"Hey, I can be flexible," she maintained.

"Please." Luke rolled his eyes.

"I can. As long as everything is exactly the way I want it, I'm totally flexible," she qualified.

Luke nodded his head. "Ah, well, my mistake," he teased. He picked up a carrot stick.

"Do you want a fry?" Lorelai asked impulsively.

"You want a carrot?" Luke immediately shot back, offering the one in his hand.

"Impossible," she declared.

"Right back at ya," he agreed, stuffing the carrot stick in his mouth. He chewed, and then paused uncertainly. "So let me ask you something," he began leadingly.

"Napkin, please."

He handed one over. "Who did you want to get your basket?"

"What?" Lorelai was suddenly at a loss.

"I mean, before you knew Patty was gonna put you on the Dating Game, you did pack this disgusting lunch and bring it out here," Luke pointed out. "So who did you want to get it?" Luke wondered if the reason she was so panicked about some strange guy buying her basket was that she was already seeing someone. Even though he really didn't want to know if she was, he couldn't help but ask.

"Well, last year Roy Wilkins bought it and I got my sprinklers fixed for half price," Lorelai explained.

"Uh huh," Luke said noncommittally.

Lorelai went on. "And this year my rain gutters are completely clogged, and I thought if I could get the Collins kid to bite, I'd get that taken care of."

"Very practical," Luke said, amused.

"I thought so," she said blithely.

"So the participation in this thing was purely for home improvement reasons?" He wasn't sure why he was driving that point home, covering his relief.

"Yes," Lorelai nodded, then grudgingly added, "and I don't know, it's a nice concept."

Luke's antennae went up. "What is?"

"Just having someone who you love or have some kind of crazy crush on bid on your basket and then share a romantic lunch, it's a nice concept," Lorelai said wistfully.

Luke chose his next words carefully. "Well, I'm sure someday you'll manage to find the right guy and drag him out to this thing and make him buy your stupid basket and then you'll be sitting out here with him."

"Yeah, someday." Lorelai replied absently, realizing she'd already done just what he said. Luke could easily fall into the category of "the right guy". She was keenly aware of him sitting next to her. She looked over at him then averted her eyes nervously. She felt a little flutter, like she always did when they strayed into the something more category and right now she was definitely feeling something more. Maybe she should have been worried about having lunch with him alone after all.

"You know what?" Luke asked, breaking into her thoughts. He leaned a little closer.

"What?" Lorelai's gaze flew up to his and her breath caught. She wondered if he'd drawn the same conclusion she had and where it might lead.

"This is nice." He nodded his head in acknowledgment and leaned back.

Relieved, Lorelai rolled her eyes at him, but was unable to stop the look of pleasure that bloomed on her face. The warm feelings seemed to flow between them and suddenly she was confused again, unsettled. And she couldn't tear her gaze away from Luke.

It was almost a relief when Dean showed up wanting to talk about Rory. The moment passed and she gave Luke a look of regret. "I'll be right back."

Luke nodded and quietly blew out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he watched her walk away. Mentally he shook himself. The intensity of the last few minutes and their conversation left him wondering, speculating once again over the crazy state of affairs between the two of them. Lately all interaction between them seemed to have some sort of an undercurrent, even this seemingly innocent conversation about the latest town event. He acknowledged to himself that something was there, but being as attuned to Lorelai's flighty nature, he knew it scared her and knowing that, he always backed off. Although he knew she trusted him, that trust only went so far. He knew that if he pushed her, she would flee. He needed to wait until he felt she was ready for something else. Something more.

"Gah!" Lorelai huffed as she plopped herself back down next to Luke. She picked up her burger and took a huge bite.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"Dean is worried about Rory being with Jess," she explained, once she swallowed her food. She took a swig of coffee.

"Huh?" Luke asked, confused. "Rory is with Jess?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, you missed that part of the auction," Lorelai replied. "Jess started a bidding war with Dean over Rory's basket and won."

"Jess bid on Rory's basket?" Luke repeated, shocked.

"And won," Lorelai confirmed.

"Wow." Luke was surprised then suddenly he wasn't. He'd seen Jess disdain every thing and every person in Stars Hollow. Everyone but Rory. He wondered, fleetingly, if Jess did have a crush on her. Not that Jess would admit it to anyone, least of all Luke. He could see how this unexpected development was affecting both Dean and Lorelai. Dean, he could care less about. He always felt Rory was too good for him. But Lorelai—well, Luke didn't like to see anything mar her sunny disposition or spirit.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Luke fumbled for something to say to calm her. "It's probably just Jess getting into his usual mischief. At least this time he isn't making chalk outlines." When Lorelai looked at him searchingly, he felt compelled to add. "It's probably a completely innocent lunch, like ours is, right?" He peered at her questioningly.

Lorelai stared at Luke, reviewing the back and forth of their picnic, not so sure this was just an innocent picnic. She wasn't sure she liked the comparison. If Rory had been going through the same see-sawing feelings, there could be trouble.

"Probably," she mumbled.

tbc


	2. Let No Good Deed Go Unpunished

Haaaaay there! I'm not sure if this story is any good or everyone is so darn happy I broke the drought on the BWR! Here is the next installment. Enjoy!

Let No Good Deed Go Unpunished

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood," Lorelai remarked as they entered the town square.

"You're awfully chipper today Mrs. Rodgers," Rory quipped.

"That's Ms. Rodgers," Lorelai corrected her. "And you seem just as chipper," she pointed out. "From now on I think I'll call you Chip. As in off the block!" she chortled gleefully. "I got a million of em!"

"You're hilarious," Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. They crossed the street and headed to Luke's.

As they entered the busy diner they noticed the usual crowd already breakfasting. Lorelai moved to sit at their regular table. Rory looked around a moment then quickly followed. Lorelai narrowed her eyes at her daughter, wondering if Rory was looking for Jess. Even though she'd had her trepidations yesterday about the amount of time Rory had spent with Jess after the basket auction, she'd decided not to butt into her daughter's life. She hoped that Rory's love for Dean was stronger than this sudden attraction for Stars Hollow's newest bad boy. Jess suddenly came through the curtain and zeroed in on Rory, inclining his head in greeting. Rory bobbed her head in response.

After a few moments Luke came up and slammed down two coffee mugs and immediately began filling them.

"Aw, did someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Lorelai teased.

"What do you want to eat?" he groused at them as he set the coffee pot down. Jess, walking by, snagged it to make the rounds. He smirked at Rory and she smiled in return.

"Wow, talk about cutting to the chase. No friendly banter? No lecture about our coffee intake?" Lorelai queried. "You're going to lose out on this year's Miss Congeniality award." She eyed him critically. "What's up with you today?"

"Nothing is up with me today," Luke replied in a put-upon voice. "Nothing that corralling up the crazies and sending them to the funny farm wouldn't cure."

"Why, what's going on?"

Before Luke could say a word, Miss Patty and Babette shouted out greetings from their table.

"Heya dolls!" Babette greeted them as she smirked at Patty.

"Well, hello there, Lorelai, you clever girl!" Miss Patty chimed in. "I guess I should have had more faith in your abilities."

Lorelai ducked her head and inwardly cringed at the innuendo, already knowing to what Patty was alluding. Hello magazine was responding just as she feared they would. She hadn't been paying attention yesterday, but apparently others had. Her picnic with Luke picnic made them number one with a bullet on the gossip hit parade once again. Lorelai was thankful none of them could read minds. She'd spent the better part of last evening trying to parse the picnic for subtext and analyze her relationship with Luke and hadn't come to a firm conclusion. She realized she ended up having a better time lunching with Luke than trying to snare a neighbor kid to clean her gutters or, god forbid, go to the highest bidder from Patty's stable of available men but other than that she was as confused as ever.

Babette waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Luke. "I neva thought I'd see the day that you'd be biddin' on a basket, let alone Lorelai's!" Her voice hit a high pitch that had them all wincing.

Luke gestured at the two older women. "And this is what I've had to deal with all morning," he said to Lorelai, in explanation of his bad mood. He'd already noticed Lorelai's sudden discomfort and decided that grouchy was the better way to go. That way he wouldn't scare her off. "Everyone is making a big deal out of the fact you dragged me out to that stupid auction."

"You did a good thing," Lorelai admitted gratefully. She knew she'd shanghaied him into participating but she didn't feel the least bit guilty about it at the time. Now, on the other hand, was another story.

"No, I got rooked into it and now I'm being punished," Luke countered petulantly. He raised his voice so everyone in the diner could hear him. "People should just mind their own business and forget about that stupid auction!"

"We can't!" Babette squawked as she came over to the table. "That was one for the history books!" She looked from Lorelai to Rory. "You's two brought in the most for your baskets!" Babette's attempt to subtlety waggle her eyebrows was a complete failure. "Hubba, hubba!"

"Well, what can we say," Lorelai said, blithely ignoring the obvious implications of both her and Luke and Jess and Rory as couples, "we are just so darn popular." She was surprised at Rory's sudden and furious blush.

"It did turn out better than I hoped," Miss Patty purred as she sauntered up to their table. She smirked at Luke. "If I'd known that all it took was having some competition to get you out there, I would have tried this years ago."

"I didn't go out there willingly," Luke pointed out. "I was all but dragged out there by the head town loon." He ducked his head both annoyed that Patty hit close to home and afraid that Lorelai might see the truth and be even more uncomfortable. Gossip central was reacting just as he thought they would and he was afraid their constant speculation would push Lorelai in the opposite direction, away from him and towards someone else.

After gauging Patty and Babette's reactions to Luke buying her basket, she quickly decided it was better to join in on the teasing than make a big deal about it. She didn't want to give the town gossips any more ammunition. "You're so mean!" Lorelai declared in mock-outrage. She added a little southern belle to her tone. "You're gonna hurt my lil ole feelins'!"

"This is ridiculous!" Luke exclaimed to the diner in general. "Why can't people just mind their own business?"

"What's the fun in that?" Patty asked.

"This is big news!" Babette declared.

"It's not news," Luke said sourly. The heat of his glare had the two older women retreating to their table.

Just then the diner bell chimed and Taylor walked in, followed closely by Kirk.

"Luke!" Taylor's voice boomed out. "There you are!"

"Yes, I usually hide in here to avoid annoying town officials," Luke deadpanned.

"I can't tell you how pleased I was to see you attending yesterday's auction!" Taylor exclaimed. He waved his finger at Luke indulgently. "I knew you'd come around eventually! I was hoping we could spend some time discussing your participation in our next festival!"

"Taylor, there is no way I will participate in any town event. I never have and I never will. I am not one of your brainwashed zombies mindlessly wandering about the town!"

"Well, Stepford is close by," Lorelai interjected. Luke shot her an exasperated look.

"But Luke, you have been involved in the past," Taylor disagreed. "You posted the sign for the rummage sale in your window."

"You're right, Taylor, he did. I saw it," Kirk nodded in agreement.

"Because Lorelai insisted…."

"You painted the diner as part of the town beautification project."

"I lost a bet over that one," Kirk added mournfully.

"Painting the diner was not part of any town beautification project," Luke growled. "And Lorelai pestered me into painting."

"Huh," Kirk observed. "Looks like maybe Lorelai wears the pants in this relationship."

As Luke turned and advanced on him menacingly, Kirk bolted from the diner, knowing he'd gone too far. "Bye!" Luke cast a threatening eye around the diner and Patty and Babette turned their attention back to eating breakfast, clearly eavesdropping on the conversation, but unwilling to say anymore for fear of drawing his wrath.

Luke rounded on Taylor who hastily backed to the door, nearly tripping over his own feet. "I'll just talk to Lorelai later and give her the details and she can relay them to you," he said hurriedly. With that he was gone.

Luke returned to Lorelai's table as Jess came up with the coffee pot to give them a refill. He hung back to see what would happen next. Lorelai and Rory exchanged an uncertain glance. Lorelai could see the dark clouds gathering around Luke and braced herself.

"Do you see the trouble you've caused?" he asked. "Taylor's going to be harassing me non-stop about this!"

"I'll talk to Taylor," Lorelai soothed him.

"Why is it any time I do something nice, it always ends up costing me in the long run?"

"I said I'll talk to Taylor," she repeated. "It's not going to cost you anything."

"It already has," Luke complained. "Not only did rescuing you cost me more than fifty bucks, I had to provide lunch which was also money out of my pocket, not to mention my time."

"Gee, don't you know how to make a girl feel special. Take me now, sailor," Lorelai snarked, slightly affronted. "You want me to pay you back for your time and trouble?'

"No," Luke replied quickly, "it's not that."

An idea suddenly took shape in her mind. A way she could actually pay Luke back and allow her to resolve these unsettling romantic feelings she was having about Luke once and for all. "Since I've put you out, let me make it up to you," Lorelai offered. "How about I take you out to dinner? My treat. That way, I'll spend money on you by feeding you, thus making us even." She grinned at him broadly. "I'll take care of everything. I'll make the reservation; I'll drive and even pick you up so you don't have to go out of your way."

"I don't know," Luke hedged. While he didn't have any problem going out with Lorelai, he'd rather be the one taking her out, handling the details, paying for everything. However, she was the one suggesting it. The possibility that this might bring them one step closer to having a relationship occurred to him. They could have a nice dinner, maybe talk and get things sorted out between them. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up, he decided. "What restaurant did you have in mind?"

"Silvano's?"

"I'd have to get all dressed up and wear a tie…"

"Just a jacket and you could take it off once we got there," Lorelai interjected quickly. "C'mon Luke," she wheedled. "I'll take care of everything, I promise."

"Fine," he agreed, once again sounding put-upon. "You take care of everything."

"Huh," Jess pondered, surveying Lorelai. "Maybe you DO wear the pants in this relationship," he cracked.

"Go to school!" Luke barked at his nephew.

Jess chuckled as he set down the coffee pot and went to grab his coat and books.

"I have to get going or I'll miss my bus to Chilton," Rory piped up, swallowing the rest of her coffee.

"But you didn't have breakfast," Lorelai protested.

"Luke, can I get a couple of donuts to go?" she asked.

As Luke went and bagged up the donuts, Lorelai couldn't help but notice that Jess was taking his time leaving, obviously dawdling.

"Here you go, Rory," Luke said handing her the bag.

Rory leaned over and pecked her mother on the cheek. "Bye!" She made a beeline for the door just as Jess opened it for her and they left together.

Luke approached the table once more. "Are you having breakfast?" he asked.

Lorelai nodded absently watching Rory and Jess walk away together. "Jack omelet, extra bacon." She saw them peel off in different directions, Jess towards the school, Rory toward the bus stop. She turned her attention back to Luke. "So when do you want to go out to dinner?"

Luke made a show of shrugging noncommittally. He didn't want to appear too eager. To Lorelai's eyes he didn't seem all that keen on the idea. "Tomorrow?

"Such enthusiasm," Lorelai shot back, knowing how she'd have fun on their evening out. They'd have a nice dinner and they would go back to the more comfortable footing. "I can't wait."

"Neither can we doll!" Babette piped up then ducked her head as Luke scowled at her.

tbc


	3. Wearing the Pants

Whew. What a week! Every time I sat down to finish this chapter off, someone or something got in the way! Add to the fact that I went two out of three falls with the tone and even though I'm still not completely happy with it, I've already tweaked it to death. Sorry I didn't post on Sunday, Cake and Sunny but here it is now!

Wearing the Pants

"Rory!" Lorelai called downstairs. She made a face at herself in the mirror then turned from side to side, examining her appearance. "Can you come up here please? I need your opinion on something right now."

Lorelai heard a muffled response from somewhere in the house. A few minutes later, she heard Rory making her way up the steps.

"Alright, I'm here," Rory declared as she walked into the room, "but I need to get back to studying for my biology test. What's the fashion emergency?" She came to an abrupt stop as her mother's attire gave her pause. "Whoa. That's what you're wearing for your dinner with Luke?"

"I think so," Lorelai replied, "but I need your opinion. Should I stick with the navy pantsuit or go with the black?" She smoothed her suit jacket down and adjusted the collar of her blouse.

"The navy looks nice. But can I ask why those are your only two choices?" Rory questioned. "Luke doesn't seem to be the business suit kind of guy."

"It's all part of my grand plan," Lorelai explained. "Since I am responsible for making the arrangements, the transportation and the meal, I decided I get to be the guy!"

"Huh," was all Rory said.

Lorelai ignored her daughter's less than enthusiastic response. She considered her idea a flash of genius. Given the details leading up to her and Luke going out to dinner, the concept of a role reversal was not so far-fetched. It made sense to her to take on the traditional dominant, i.e. sexist male, role. This way she could direct the evening and steer clear of those "special" moments. It would also give her greater piece of mind to nudge whatever was going on with Luke back to a safer, more familiar plane.

She slowly twirled, checking out her appearance from all angles. She fastened one more button on her blouse, making the neckline more modest than what she usually wore. She nodded her head, satisfied with the final result before continuing on. "I'm just returning the favor Luke did for me at the basket auction. Only difference is I'm going to dress the part." She smirked at her daughter. "It will be fun!"

"Okay." Rory absently nodded her head while trying to noodle her way through her mother's twisted logic. After a moment she piped up again. "Who here thinks this is not such a good idea?" She raised her hand.

"I don't know what you mean," Lorelai said innocently.

"Uh huh," Rory's tone indicated the exact opposite. She eyed her mother critically. "If you're going to be the guy, why are you wearing your hair down and curly then? And the makeup?"

"Well, let's just say I am keeping in touch with my feminine side too," Lorelai replied. "It's not spoiling the overall effect and Hello! Have you ever known me to go out without wearing some kind of makeup?"

"No, of course not," Rory agreed.

"Do you want to hear what I've got planned?" Lorelai asked eagerly. She had thought long and hard on what she would do for this dinner from start to finish, even going as far as picking out conversation topics and deciding on masculine mannerisms.

"I think I'd rather not know," Rory demurred. "That way, at least I will be totally blameless and still be able to go to Luke's!"

"Oh, it's not that bad," Lorelai scoffed.

"Mom, every name you've made up for him, every prank you've played, none of it has ever gone over very well," Rory pointed out. "Remember what happened after you saw "Toy Story" and you called him Sheriff Woody?"

"Dirty!"

"Maybe you should just dress like you normally would."

"What fun is that?" Lorelai questioned blithely.

"Well, good luck to you then," Rory said, abandoning her attempt to get her mother to change her outfit. "What time are you leaving?"

"I'm going to pick him up at seven," Lorelai told her.

Rory looked at the time on the bedside clock. "You're ready early."

Lorelai grinned at Rory, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "As the guy I plan to be on time. Lord knows how long I'll be waiting around until Luke gets pretty."

Rory shook her head in tolerant affection at her mother's statement. She knew Lorelai could take a running joke to the breaking point and was pretty sure whatever she had planned would be a colossally bad idea, but Rory also knew better than to continue to argue. Once Lorelai's mind was made up nothing could sway her.

At that moment there was a knock on their door. "I'll get it," Rory said. She scampered out of the room and down the steps. Lorelai followed more slowly and was still coming down the stairs as Rory opened the front door. "Luke," Rory said in surprise.

"Hey Rory," Luke gave her a quick, half smile as he stepped into the foyer, eyes darting around. He appeared nervous.

"Luke?" Lorelai echoed as she walked into the foyer. "Ugh, why—" her objection to his unexpected arrival trailed off as she halted in the archway, completely stunned by his appearance. He was very nicely dressed in a steel gray button down shirt and black slacks. Instead of his usual green army jacket, he wore a black leather coat. Oh god, she thought as she stared at him; he'd even shaved!

"Hey," Luke said awkwardly. He'd watched Lorelai assess his attire and wondered if he'd made a mistake by wearing date-type clothes. "You did say we were going to Silvano's," he reminded her, as if in explanation.

"What? Oh, yeah." She'd picked the place so she should've expected him to dress accordingly. She just didn't expect him to look so…hot. She mentally shook herself, remembering what she had planned for the night. She needed to stick to her guns. "What are you doing here?" Lorelai demanded as she snapped back to reality. She hoped he hadn't noticed her practically drooling over him. This was exactly the type of situation she was trying to avoid. It always led to the other more awkward, almost intimate moments that scattered her wits. "I was coming to pick you up!"

"I had to get out of there," Luke explained. "Those idiots are lying in wait at the diner. They wanted to be there when you came to pick me up."

"Which idiots?" Lorelai queried encouragingly. She was hoping to get things back on track by starting the evening off with a patented Luke rant.

"Pick any one out of the village—they're all idiots!" Luke threw up his hands. "Patty, Babette, Kirk, Taylor..." he gritted his teeth, "Jess..."

Rory let out a snuffled snort and Luke turned to glare at her. She immediately schooled her features into a more somber face.

"Anyway, I couldn't take it anymore. I decided to leave them hanging, snuck out the back door and came here," Luke finished.

"Okay," Lorelai pouted slightly, regretting that she wouldn't be able to use her line that she would have Luke home early to Jess. "I guess we can leave since I'm ready."

Noting her professional attire and thinking she'd just come home from work, he said, "You can go change. I can wait."

"Nope, this is what I'm wearing," Lorelai replied sweetly.

Luke's brow wrinkled in confusion. He'd secretly hoped she might wear a dress or something less business-like. Even though Lorelai looked beautiful in whatever she wore, he'd rather she wear something more…feminine. Maybe that way he wouldn't be so far off base by thinking this could be a date, at least as far as he was concerned.

Lorelai left him little choice to debate the issue of her attire as she headed to the door. "Night Rory," she called. "See you later!"

"Good night, Rory," Luke said, as he followed Lorelai out.

"Have fun!" Rory called after them as she shut the door.

By the time Luke got outside, Lorelai was already waiting at the passenger door of the Jeep. He was surprised that she expected him to open the door for her. He hurried over to open it, but as he drew closer, Lorelai opened the door herself, motioning for him to get in.

"What's this?" Luke asked.

"Just all part of the full "my treat" experience," Lorelai smiled.

Luke rolled his eyes, but his lips quirked in tolerant amusement at her antics. "Fine." He got in and she closed the door.

"Buckle up," Lorelai reminded him as she got in and snapped on her seatbelt. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to lil ole you on the way to the restaurant."

"Ha ha," Luke replied, shaking his head.

As she backed out of the driveway, she turned off the radio. "So, how was you day, dear?"

Luke's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Dear? "What?" he asked, certain he hadn't heard correctly. Lorelai never called him dear. He looked over at her. She was grinning maniacally out the windshield as she navigated the streets out of town. Realizing her behavior was bizarre even for her, he asked, "Are you drunk?"

"No." The grin stayed fixed. "I'm just trying to show an interest in what you have to say. Isn't that what guys do when they take women out? Show them they aren't the nose-picking, inappropriate-scratching, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals we all know they are?"

"Nice," Luke replied sarcastically at her stereotypical assessment of his sex.

"So? How was your day?"

Luke shrugged. "Same as usual. Kirk drove me nuts with his food requests. Patty drove me nuts by trying to pinch my butt and Taylor drove me nuts just on general principle."

Lorelai reached over and patted Luke's hand. "Well, you just relax. We'll have a nice dinner. I'll take care of everything."

Luke was surprised at her attentiveness. He was starting to feel optimistic. "Good," he murmured. "Looking forward to it."

They drove in a companionable silence until they reached the restaurant. Lorelai pulled up to valet parking.

"We can walk," Luke offered. He didn't want her to waste her money paying to park.

"No, no," Lorelai disagreed. "This is all part of our dining experience. Wait here."

With that she got out of the car and handed off her keys to the waiting attendant and taking the claim check. She quickly came around the front of the Jeep and opened Luke's door.

"Lorelai, jeez," Luke remonstrated as he got out. "I thought you wanted to me wait for a reason. I can open my own door. I'm not an invalid."

"I know," she replied, "but tonight it's my job to do this."

Luke looked at her, perplexed. Her bright smile was still firmly in place and her eyes were dancing. She headed towards entrance, as if bent on a mission.

"I got a bad feeling about this," he commented as he rushed after her.

Once again, she beat him to the door, holding it open for him. "Sir," she addressed him, indicating he should enter first with a sweep of her hand.

Luke made an exasperated sound but did as she requested, hoping she would get the cockamamie notion of doing everything for him out of her system and soon.

As the approached the hostess station, she spoke up. "Gilmore, party of two."

"Of course," the hostess replied checking off the name from the reservation list. She handed two menus to a nearby waiter who led them into the dining room.

"Right this way," the waiter indicated as they made their way to the table. He pulled out a chair to seat Lorelai. "Allow me."

"Oh, no, allow me," she waved him away and turned toward Luke, indicating he should sit down. "Have a seat."

"Lorelai," Luke admonished her under his breath.

She stood there stubbornly, not budging until he sat down in the chair she was offering him. Lorelai then slipped into her own seat without any assistance. The waiter looked from Lorelai to Luke trying to make sense of their actions. Puzzled, he placed their menus before them and left.

"Are you going to do this all night?" Luke demanded, as soon as they were alone. He scanned the menu, not liking how the evening was starting out.

Well, seeing as I'm the one taking you out and paying, yeah," Lorelai explained with a grin.

"Lorelai…"

"Hey, you're the one who was going on about how you were inconvenienced participating in the basket auction," Lorelai pointed out. "I'm just returning the favor." She looked over the entree selections.

Their waiter returned to the table glancing from one to the other. "Are you ready to order?" he asked tentatively.

"Shall I order for both of us?" Lorelai suggested gleefully.

Luke let out a low growl.

~#~

Lorelai watched Luke toy with his food. He didn't seem to be very hungry but he was definitely thirsty. He was already on his fourth beer and showed no signs of slowing down. She speared the last morsel of her Chicken Parmesan. As she daintily chewed, she reviewed their evening together so far.

She knew Luke wasn't happy with her insisting on the role reversal. She'd chattered almost continually throughout dinner. She'd been attentive, even solicitous, making sure Luke was satisfied with everything from their table location, to any wayward drafts, to if his food was cooked to his liking. He'd grown quiet as the evening wore on, barely managing a word or two in response to her attempts to draw him out. Every dark look, every growl clearly telegraphed his displeasure with the way their dinner was unfolding.

That didn't stop her from keeping up the pretense however.

She'd honestly hoped Luke might see the humor in the situation, get into the spirit of things and even play along. She wanted them to have fun with no pressure. She was sure he had to be as relieved as she was that this dinner didn't have any of those moments that threatened the status quo between them. She valued his friendship too much to jeopardize it.

A woman approached the table bearing a basket with single long-stemmed roses. "A flower for your lady?" she asked Luke.

Before Luke could reply, Lorelai piped up, "I'll take one for the, er, gentleman, please." She'd refrained from calling Luke a lady. As the woman uncertainly handed her the rose, Lorelai indicated to her to add it to their bill.

Lorelai presented the rose to Luke. "If you want you can wear it behind your ear," she joked.

Luke opened his mouth to retort but closed it and took her offering without a word and laid it next to his plate.

"Cat got your tongue?" Lorelai asked. She took her last bite of dinner and then sipped her wine.

Luke took a hefty swig of his beer. "No. I'm just waiting for this train wreck to run its course so we can get the hell out of here."

"Aww, you're not having a good time?" Lorelai pouted playfully. "Why not?"

Luke noted her demeanor and wasn't sure he could hold his temper or keep his voice down if he answered her so he just shook his head. "We'll talk about this later. Finish your dinner so we can go."

"No dessert?" Lorelai queried, shocked. "I was going to order a tiramisu with two forks and let you eat it all!"

Luke snorted at the idea of her refusing dessert and him scarfing it down. However Lorelai seemed bound and determined to make this dinner into one long practical joke. "Go ahead," he said resignedly. "Order your dessert. None for me, thanks. I'm keeping an eye on my figure." His voice dripped with snark.

The waiter cleared away their plates then returned to the table. He noticed how little Luke had eaten. "Was the dinner not to your liking?" he prompted.

"No, it was fine, Luke commented.

"You know how it is," Lorelai confided to the waiter. "Typical man. He pretends not to be hungry at dinner then inhales the contents of the doggie bag later." She kiddingly shook a finger at Luke. "He doesn't want me to see he can eat."

"Uh, okay," the waiter's tone was non-committal. "Well then, did you save room for dessert?" he inquired politely.

"Just bring me the check," Lorelai instructed him. She emphasized the word "me".

The waiter shot an affronted glare in Luke's direction and stalked off. Though thoroughly bewildered, he'd served them well. At first, his glances were questioning in reaction to their unusual behavior, but as the evening had worn on, his gaze becoming more and more critical of Luke's seeming lack of chivalry.

As they waited for the check, Lorelai watched Luke carefully. His head was bowed and he was studying his hands. When the waiter returned, he deliberately laid the bill closer to Luke. Before Luke had a chance to pick it up, Lorelai snatched it away.

She smiled at the waiter before placing her credit card on the tray. "I've got this thanks."

The waiter looked at Luke reproachfully. Luke hunched in his seat, feeling like a louse. After appetizers, their meals along with the wine and beer, the bill was a considerable sum, much more than the fifty dollars he'd shelled out. He knew the man had to be thinking he was a complete jerk to allow a beautiful woman to pay the check.

Lorelai settled the bill and they got up to leave. They made their way out and waited for the car in silence. Lorelai tipped the valet when the Jeep arrived and held open the passenger door for Luke.

Luke was now past caring; he just wanted to go home. He ignored the parking attendants who were obviously taking about Lorelai waiting on him, got in and let her close the door. He waited patiently for Lorelai to get behind the wheel and drive them back to Stars Hollow so he could put an end to his misery.

"Well, I hope you had a good time," Luke seethed as they got on the road.

"I did," Lorelai admitted. "I'm surprised you didn't want to play along."

"Are you kidding me?" Luke stared at her agog. "What could ever make you think I would enjoy being emasculated at every turn?"

"Ooooh, someone's breaking out the two dollar words," Lorelai quipped. "It wasn't that bad."

"You practically cut me meat for me!"

"Dirty!"

"No. Stop," Luke ordered. "You took what could have been a nice, casual dinner between two friends and turn it into the date from Hell. I felt like a complete idiot! All those people looked at me like I was some kind of deadbeat! Why did you do it?' he questioned.

"Since I was responsible…." she began.

"Yes, I understand you had some bizarre notion to be the guy," Luke finished for her. "The clothing, offering to drive, taking control of every last detail drove that fact home." He turned in his seat and stared at her profile. "I still want to know why."

"I just thought it would be a good payback for the auction," she said in her defense. "I'd dragged you out there, made you pay….

"And we had lunch. End of story. You were the one who insisted on this dinner. What possessed you to act this way? And when you saw that it was ruining the evening, why didn't you stop?" Luke persisted.

Suddenly Lorelai was intent on the road. She was finally fully realizing the depth of his anger. "I thought it would be…fun," she finished lamely. She couldn't tell him the real reason why she had gone to such outlandish lengths to ensure that this dinner was not a date. That would cause even more trouble. Now that she was reviewing her conduct over the past few hours, she was starting to feel a little embarrassed by her actions. She'd humiliated him publicly. "I'm sorry," she said contritely.

Luke let out a derisive snort. "No, you're not."

"I am," she replied insistently. She turned down the road would take them back into Star Hollow.

"Just go back to your house," Luke said, seeing her driveway coming up. "Don't bother dropping me off at the diner."

"It's no trouble," she offered.

"It's out of your way," Luke returned. "I'd rather walk home."

"Okay," she conceded as she turned into her driveway. She paused for a moment, considering. "Are you going to stay mad at me?"

"I'll get over it eventually." Seeing that she appeared to regret her actions, he knew that, given time, he'd forgive her

Lorelai parked the car and turned off the ignition. They sat in silence. Lorelai looked over at him. "Are you still mad now?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What about now?" She was hoping to coax him back into a better mood.

"Yep."

"And now?"

"Still mad." He opened his door to get out.

Lorelai hurriedly got out of the car and went around to his side. She had to do something to relieve his anger. It had to be something that would make him laugh; ease the tension. He was standing next to the open car door and she came up. "Allow me," she stepped between Luke and the open car door.

"Lorelai," Luke ground out in frustration. She was still doing it again. She didn't know when to quit.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make amends," Lorelai explained. She frantically tried to come up with a joke. "Especially since you're obviously not going to put out even though I paid for dinner." She shut the door and started to turn.

Luke's mouth dropped open and he literally saw red. This was it, the straw that broke the camel's back and he reacted.

As Lorelai turned to face him, he stepped forward, crowding her, making her step back, coming up hard against the side of the Jeep. Luke loomed over her, filling her vision.

"You want me to put out?"he demanded. "Fine!"

With that, he grabbed her and pulled her close. Lorelai put up her hands, but as the distance between them shrank, they ended up flat against his chest. He lowered his head and kissed her full on the mouth.

She'd always imagined Luke to be strong but nothing prepared her for the strength of the arms that wrapped around her, the rock-hard chest in direct contact with her breasts. His lips were parted and he thrust his tongue past her lips, exploring her mouth. Even though it was an angry kiss, his lips were soft and insistent and she liked it. Immediately she responded, kissing him back.

He abruptly pulled away from her, giving her a withering stare. "Hope you enjoyed that because that's the last time that'll ever happen! I'm done!" He stomped off towards the diner.

Lorelai didn't move. She was glad she was still leaning up against the Jeep because she was sure her knees were about to give way. Her head was spinning; her lips were throbbing from the pressure of his. All of her planning, all of the hi-jinks, her antics had all gone for naught and all it took was one kiss. She was now truly sorry they hadn't had a normal dinner together. Then she remembered Luke's parting words that it would never happen again.

"The hell it won't," she said aloud.

tbc


End file.
